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- TORONTO - The RCMP are asking
to test a controversial x-ray machine -- that renders travellers' clothes
invisible -- in their fight against drug smuggling at Pearson airport.
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- The hi-tech device allows Customs and airport cops to
"see through" suspects' clothes to reveal if drugs or weapons
are hidden underneath.
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- The Rapiscan Secure 1000 system, banned by Health Canada,
is so sensitive it can show a woman's nipples and an outline of her underwear.
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- The machine, which has been used since last summer at
six major airports in the U.S. and two in Britain, uses body imaging and
x-ray energy to produce clear images of concealed objects.
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- "This machine will help make our job easier,"
said Staff-Sgt. Bill Matheson, of the Mounties' airport drug section. "It
could curb the amount of body-packers we're experiencing."
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- Matheson said his officers arrest at least one person
a week with drugs taped to his or her body.
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- "This will give the smugglers something to worry
about," he said. "I think this machine will probably cut down
on the amount of smugglers."
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- Canada Customs officers now battle drug smuggling with
dogs and x-ray and ion scans of luggage. Ion scans can detect traces of
drugs.
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- Customs spokesman Michel Proulx said the body scanners
will not be used because they don't meet guidelines set by Health Canada.
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- He said health officials prohibit the use of radiation
devices on people because of medical concerns.
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- The Rapiscan is said to expose the subjects to the same
x-rays as they would receive on a single trip through a metal detector.
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- Some U.S. critics have blasted the machine, claiming
it infringes on a person's privacy because operators can ogle a person's
body.
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